NYC Residents Select $25M Local Projects

New York City residents have now picked which neighborhood capital projects will move forward through the City Council’s latest participatory budgeting cycle. On May 22, Speaker Julie Menin and the council said nearly 130,000 people voted from April 11 through April 19 on how to direct almost $25 million in funding for schools, parks, libraries and other public spaces across 22 council districts. The council said that was the highest vote total since the program began in 2011. The winning proposals now move into the city’s budget and implementation process. ### How big was this year’s vote? The New York City Council said nearly 130,000 New Yorkers cast ballots in the Fiscal Year 2027 cycle. The voting ran for nine days in April and covered 22 participating districts in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. Residents could vote online or at more than 100 in-person sites, and ballots were offered in English plus 11 other languages. The 15th cycle of the council-run program drew the most votes since participatory budgeting was launched in 2011, according to the council. (council.nyc.gov) Voting was open to residents of participating districts who were at least 11 years old. ### Where is the money going? Almost $25 million in capital funding is being directed to local projects tied to public facilities and neighborhood infrastructure, the council said on May 22. (council.nyc.gov) The council said the winning proposals focus on schools, parks, libraries and other public spaces. The April 10 vote-week announcement had described the ballot as covering $22 million in capital funding, while the May 22 results release said voters allocated almost $25 million. (council.nyc.gov) The council did not explain the difference in the two announcements, but both releases described the same FY 2027 participatory budgeting cycle across 22 districts. ### Which neighborhoods took part? Twenty-two council members organized participatory budgeting in their districts for the FY 2027 cycle, according to the council. (council.nyc.gov) The participating districts included lower Manhattan seats held by Christopher Marte and Harvey Epstein, Manhattan districts represented by Julie Menin, Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu, Bronx districts represented by Elsie Encarnacion, Kevin C. Riley, Pierina Ana Sanchez, Althea Stevens and Amanda Farias, Queens districts represented by Tiffany Caban, Shekar Krishnan, Julie Won, Nantasha Williams and Lynn Schulman, and Brooklyn districts represented by Jennifer Gutierrez, Crystal Hudson, Sandy Nurse, Shahana Hanif, Rita Joseph and Farah N. (council.nyc.gov) Louis. The council’s April 10 release said the 2026 vote covered districts in Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Staten Island was not listed among participating boroughs in that announcement. ### What kinds of projects actually won? District-level results released by the council show the funded items are highly local. In District 1, represented by Christopher Marte, winning projects included a commercial dishwasher for Gouverneur Hospital and playground and track work at Battery Park City School. (council.nyc.gov) In District 2, represented by Harvey Epstein, the council listed several expense projects, including youth-led environmental stewardship and a multilingual Department of Health food-safety training program. (council.nyc.gov) The council said participatory budgeting proposals are developed by residents through neighborhood assemblies and budget delegate meetings in the fall and winter, then refined with city agencies and council offices before reaching the ballot. Council Member Kevin C. Riley’s district page says projects funded through the process must be public-facing physical infrastructure projects costing at least $50,000 and expected to last at least five years. (council.nyc.gov) ### What happens after the vote? The council’s participatory budgeting timeline says the process moves into evaluation and planning in May and June. Winning projects are then included in the upcoming fiscal year budget in June, and city agencies oversee implementation. Speaker Julie Menin said in the May 22 release that “over 128,000 New Yorkers proved” the demand for direct involvement in local spending decisions. (council.nyc.gov) The council’s results page says district-by-district outcomes are posted through its participatory budgeting program, while implementation now shifts to the budget and agency planning stages in the FY 2027 cycle. (council.nyc.gov)